C58-18 Epidemiological Trends Of Sarcoidosis In Taiwan: A Population-based Study, 2003-2023

Rationale

Sarcoidosis is a complex systemic granulomatous disease with diagnostic ambiguity with the mycobacterial infection, but epidemiological data in Asian populations, particularly tuberculosis (TB) endemic areas, remain scarce. We conducted a nationwide, population-based study to address the trends of sarcoidosis burden in Taiwan over two decades.

Methods

Utilizing the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), we analyzed a cohort of 4,655 adult patients diagnosed with sarcoidosis, defined by at least one inpatient diagnosis or three outpatient diagnoses, between 2003 and 2022.

Results

The cohort exhibited a median age of 53.2 years and a pronounced female predominance (61.1%). Both incidence and prevalence rates demonstrated a steady and sustained increase over the past two decades, with prevalence reaching 5.45 per 100,000 by 2022.1 The highest incidence was concentrated among females aged 50-70 years. Diagnostic challenges were reflected by the finding that 8.5% (395/4,655) of patients with sarcoidosis have a concomitant diagnosis with mycobacterial infection, whereas only 12.2% (48/395) of them have received anti-mycobacterial agents for longer than six months. Mortality analysis demonstrated an age-dependent risk, increasing markedly in patients aged 60 years or older, but the overall five-year mortality rate remained stable across the 2003-2017 period.

Conclusion

We found that sarcoidosis incidence and prevalence have steadily risen in the past two decades, particularly among middle-aged women. We demonstrated that the diagnostic ambiguity with mycobacterial infection appears to be an essential issue. More prospective studies are required to validate our findings and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

This abstract is funded by: None